I had been out photographing the 2014 Sakura-Con here in Seattle most of the day. It is one of the largest anime / cos-play gatherings of the year and easily one of the most fun for teens to partake in and enjoy. A little tired and hungry, I stopped by a popular coffee house for one last shot of espresso and to grab some fish at a nearby sushi bar. As a street photographer who has lived in this fairly rambunctious neighborhood for over 25 years, I am constantly snapping "test shots" in order to prepare for anything of interest. I had no idea that less than a minute after I took one of these test shots a car would careen out of the roadway and onto the sidewalk where I and others were just walking. I couldn't believe my eyes as I watched the driver steer directly at us traveling at 20-25mph. Though I dropped my sushi in the process of avoiding the car I did still manage to swing the camera around taking a few shots. Never once did the driver slow or stop. Later I would find out from other witnesses that he was involved in a nearyby disturbance before jumping in his car and speeding my direction. Seattle Police would also later confirm that he was spotted again but pursued only a short distance before deciding a chase was too dangerous to continue - a wise precaution. I hope everyone seeing this story shares the photos so that the driver is recognized, found and held responsible. I also wonder if the young woman in the first photo will ever learn just how lucky she was the night potential catastrophe was avoided by a mere 22 seconds.

In a predominantly Catholic nation like the Philippines, Filipinos practice traditions in observance of the Holy Week.

On Holy Thursday, Filipinos visit seven churches as part of the traditional Visita Iglesia in which they pray in fourteen Stations of the Cross of Jesus' passion, death and resurrection. In the afternoon a mass of the Lord's Supper is celebrated commemorating the Last Supper and the washing of the feet of the twelve apostles. It is also during Holy Thursday when the procession of the Blessed Sacrament is performed placing it in a special altar for veneration and vigil.

On Good Friday, after the seven last words and veneration of the cross, a procession in the late afternoon of life-sized images of Christ's passion is held with Santo Entierro a wooden or resin sculpture of the dead Christ lying, is paraded around the parish, a commemoration Jesus' burial.

My first impression of Denver's 420 rally left me feeling like a person trapped in a cage. The entirety of Civic Center Park was surrounded by fences with security checkpoints on each corner. I walked through with just me camera and was very loosely frisked.

While walking within the confines of the fence, it didn't feel so much like a celebration. It was more like that feeling of being watched. The Denver Police Department and the Park Rangers were present, but what I found disconcerting was the high number of private security guards armed with pistols walking amongst the crowd. I saw a lot of guns today.

The deep bass droned, the air was filled with marijuana, and I had cotton mouth after about 5 minutes of being there. The music being played had that ominous tone to it as well, the tough guy music, the kind of music that makes you aggressive.

It's meant to be a counter-culture event, but it is completely controlled by the authorities. The riot fences surrounding the stages, the heavy security presence and the intricate network of cameras covering every inch of the park say have your fun, but do so at your own risk.

In northern Minnesota, spring tends to come in like a lion and leave like a lamb. This year however, it has come in like a Yeti and hasn't left yet-i. You'll find many people making due during this year's extended cold and snowy conditions. Northern Minnesotans are hardy bunch who easily survive under these conditions but this year they have really taken a beating. This year, schools have used all of their snow/cold weather days plus some. To students' dismay, many will be adding extra days all the way to mid-June. Also, ice on many of the area lakes reached 36 inches thick causing ice fisherman to use extensions on their ice augers. Not to mention, cabin fever is running rampant as families have been cooped up in their homes since the beginning of December.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to take part in some interesting activities in order to enjoy this never ending winter. My northern Minnesota family decided to spend a Saturday afternoon enjoying spring time activities but on the frozen surface of Hale Lake. We played some softball, kayaked, and relaxed outside on the snow covered beach. I decided to take some photos to document how crazy the long winter has made us northern Minnesotans.

Temperatures finally reached the mid-fifties in Grand Rapids, MN so we took advantage of it by going outside without winter gear. Although the lake is frozen, we took turns kayaking with a little push from another person. My sister gave me a little shove around the lake. We did wear our life jackets just in case the ice gave way. We broke out the gloves and bats and played some snow softball. My dad is no Joe Mauer but he could really smash a snowball. We even took it to the extreme by taking lawn chairs out on the two foot deep snowbanks on the beach. My parents were lucky enough to have their own built in cooler to keep their beverages cold.

Although the day was fun, I recommend that if you're going to live in northern Minnesota, keep your boots at the ready until the 4th of July, it's bound to be warm by then.

Various Biblical processions are held on the Island of Malta in Europe. Hundreds of people dress up in Biblical costumes to take part in processions depicting the Passion of the Lord. Many villages around Malta hold these processions some of which are centuries old. One of the oldest is in Rabat, Malta where I took this photo of a Roman centurion on full uniform. (photo by Vince Agius, Malta Europe)

It was a skulking monitor lizard who greeted us at the little-known Pangandaran National Park, in West Java, Indonesia. The national park is situated next to the west beach and the adjacent white-sand beach in Pangandaran, 6 hours by road from the capital, Jakarta. Very few world travellers know about the existence of this national park here. The Park accommodates at least 6 caves one of which is man-made. The Japanese made this during WWII to house PoW and to store ammunition. Needless to say, the natural ones are more scenic and hide intricate formations of stalactites and fauna inside them.

This festival has become the annual observance of a classic kite duel back in 1969. The Maharajah of Bharatpur, India challenged the Governor of Delaware to a kite-flying contest. When the date came, the Governor was out of town, so his Lt. Governor, Gene Bookhammer stepped in to take up the challenge. Each of their lines was equipped with 12" of abrasive sand on the string near the kite. Fighting for position, Bookhammer's kite was the victor, cutting the Maharajah's line. The following year, he returned and once again Bookhammer came out the victor. Ever since then, people have been bringing their own kites at the end of spring, and the Kite Festival has turned into the quasi-official opening of the summer season at Cape Henlopen State Park in Lewes, Delaware. This year saw a range of competitions for children, teens and adults; with prizes for looks, height, stunt flying and ballet (the equivalent of ice-skating to music.) Hundreds braved the 45 degree temperatures and brisk winds to sail their homemade and store-bought kites all morning and afternoon.